This video does not show singer Liam Payne falling to his death
Former One Direction star Liam Payne died at the age of 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday after falling from a balcony. Police in Buenos Aires said a preliminary autopsy suggests Liam Payne died from external and internal bleeding injuries. Payne was a global star and part of the much-loved boyband, which was created on The X factor TV show in 2010.
Against this backdrop, a video showing a man falling off the hotel balcony went viral on social media with a claim that it shows singer Liam Payne falling to his death off a hotel balcony in Argentina. In the video, a man could be seen holding onto a window and subsequently falling to the ground.
The caption of the video states, “One Direction singer Liam Payne tragically died outside a hotel in Buenos Aires after falling from the third floor”.
Let’s check the truth.
Fact Check-
We started our investigation with a reverse image search on Google and the results led us to several media reports regarding this incident. As per the reports, this incident took place on 13 September, 2023, at 58 Cuba Street in the Centro neighbourhood of Mexico City, Mexico. A man reportedly fell from his bedroom window, trying to save his life after a fire broke out in his apartment.
In the video, we can see smoke coming out of the window as the man falls. As per the reports, firefighters and paramedics reportedly arrived at the scene soon after and took him to the Balbuena General Hospital.
Another report by Excelsior from September, 2023 also states that the man fell from the third floor of a building downtown Mexico City while escaping fire. According to the report, “Firefighters from the central station put out the fire to prevent it from spreading to other departments. Members of the Rescue and Medical Emergency Squad (ERUM) treated the injured man and rushed him to the Balbuena General Hospital for prompt treatment”. The name of this man was Vincent Estal Carabias and that he died the same day in the hospital, succumbing to burns and fractures.
Based on these evidences, we can understand that a 2023 video from Mexico was falsely shared as footage of Liam Payne falling to his death.
Conclusion-
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. This video shows a man jumping from a burning apartment in Mexico in September 2023. It is unrelated to Liam Payne’s death.